Many housewives have been interested in the question for several decades: is margarine in baking harmful to health? What consequences can result from consuming this product, and is there data on the benefits and harms?

Refuse homemade baked goods, despite the abundance similar products on the shelves of modern supermarkets is almost impossible. Homemade pies, pies and buns have a special charm, even their taste is very different. Such food is prepared with love; family members and guests enjoy eating homemade products.

For many decades, margarine has been the basis for baking. Of course, today there is an opinion that this product is harmful to health, so advanced housewives try to replace it with butter or other dairy products. However, our ancestors did not see any harm in margarine, added it to all baked goods, and no side effects were found.

Butter or margarine?

For many years there has been a fierce debate about which is better - butter or margarine for baking? Propagandists healthy image Life claims that margarine is harmful, it negatively affects health, it contains a lot of cholesterol and harmful fats, so its use leads to serious consequences.

However, many housewives still use this particular product despite the well-known benefits of the oil. So, what is the difference between these products, which one is better and safer?

Pros and cons of oil

Butter is a product made entirely from natural cream. The component is whipped to the desired consistency. One tablespoon of butter contains:

1. 30 mg of bad cholesterol.
2. 7 g of fat with harmful fatty acids.

Note! In order to avoid health problems, you should exclude from your diet oil that contains high content fatty acids. An excess of this substance can harm the arterial system.

People who cannot refuse to eat butter, even knowing its harm, are advised to pay attention to those types of products that contain less fat and cholesterol. As a rule, today it is not difficult to find good oil, produced with the addition of olive or canola oil. In this form, it is easier to digest, which has a better effect on human health.

In baking, butter beats margarine because its fat content reaches eighty percent. Due to this, the adze turns out tender, soft and rosy. It is worth understanding that oil created with the addition of other components will not produce a similar effect, so you need to choose the product carefully.

It is important to consider that butter It melts quite quickly, so it is unlikely to be suitable for making puff pastry. Moreover, to create creams it is necessary to use odorless oil, otherwise the aroma will remain on finished products.

Pros and cons of margarine

Unlike butter, margarine is not a natural product. It is produced by adding to vegetable oil hydrogen molecules, resulting in a mass of medium or high hardness that looks like regular butter.

Many products of this nature contain hydrogenated fats, which can cause serious harm - they significantly reduce the content of good cholesterol, necessary for the body, and increase the amount of bad things that are harmful to the body. The harm of margarine is to increase the risk of cardiovascular and arterial diseases.

When purchasing, you should focus on margarine marked “soft” - in such a product the content of hydrogenated fats is either completely absent or significantly lower than a dangerous level.

For baking, even with great popularity among older generations, margarine is not the best solution. Despite its low price, this product can ruin a dish instead of making it tasty and attractive. The fact is that the fat content in margarine is only thirty-five percent, the rest of the composition is plain water. This is why baked goods made with margarine will simply spread across the pan and burn.

Besides:

• Trans fats contained in margarine easily penetrate the body's cells, creating fertile ground for malignant tumors. Because people with serious illnesses from using of this product should be refused.
• The use of margarine by people whose diet contains mayonnaise and other sauces is strictly not recommended - these products also contain harmful trans fats that can harm the body. When combined with margarine, the result is a dangerous mixture that instantly destroys good cholesterol, saturating the body with bad cholesterol.

Note! In some recipes, margarine is the main component and is prescribed specifically - in this case, you must adhere to the recommendations and follow them exactly step by step instructions.

Soft margarine, despite popular belief, is much safer than butter. It’s not for nothing that when choosing margarine or butter, housewives often read the ingredients. IN soft product contained minimal amount harmful cholesterol and fats hazardous to health, so this product is excellent for cooking variety of dishes.

The only thing the housewife needs to take into account is that baked goods made with margarine are likely to burn or spread.

Margarine has a rather specific taste and smell. As a rule, when baking, these qualities of the product are completely preserved, and all buns and pies acquire the taste of margarine. Despite this, housewives still do not give up margarine, giving it preference due to its low price and difficult heating.

Spread

Another popular product used for baking is spread. It is created from a mixture of a variety of fats - both animal and vegetable. Often added to the product natural cream, milk, and also any of the vegetable oils is necessarily present in the composition.

Such a product often replaces the usual margarine and butter not only due to its affordable price, but also because of the content natural ingredients in its composition.

Video: margarine, spread or butter?

Vegetable oil

One of the safest, but at the same time no less popular products for baking, is vegetable oil. Its main advantage is that its composition almost always contains exclusively natural ingredients. Moreover, manufacturers try to avoid harmful cholesterol in the product, so the harm to health is minimal.

Despite the fact that technological progress allows us to use any products, get acquainted with their composition and replace them with analogues, margarine is still popular.

The experience of past years shows that there is nothing fatal in the use of margarine - our parents and grandparents used this artificial substance for years, masterfully creating delicious homemade pies and delighting guests and family members with baked goods created with warmth and love.

Every person who cares about their health understands how important it is to monitor their diet. Having heard about the dangers of fats and cholesterol, many refuse butter, replacing it with margarine. However, how justified is such a replacement and can it be considered correct?

Today I will try to figure out what is better: butter or margarine? To do this, let's look at the useful and harmful properties the specified products.

Which is healthier: butter or margarine?

Composition of butter:

1. Minerals. rich in minerals such as copper, zinc, chromium, manganese. Butter contains large amounts of iodine and the powerful antioxidant selenium.

2. Vitamins. The oil contains vitamin A in an easily digestible form. This vitamin is good for vision, endocrine system and other vital processes.

3. Fatty acids. Butter has a balanced composition of fatty acids, which support the functioning of the immune system and improve metabolism. Omega 6 acids support brain activity and improve the condition of skin and nails.

4. Cholesterol. Butter, unlike margarine, contains essential for the health of the brain, intestines, nervous system. Thanks to its lecithin content, butter protects the walls of blood vessels from the formation of harmful cholesterol plaques.

5. Conjugated linoleic acid. This substance protects against oncological diseases, helps to build mass without accumulating fat.

6. Glycospingolipids. These fatty acids protect humans from gastrointestinal infections.

7. Wulsen factor. It is also called the “anti-stiffness factor”, as it protects the body from joint calcification, hardening of the arteries and other diseases of the heart, blood vessels and joints.

Health benefits of oil:

1. Heart disease. Oil is good remedy prevention of cardiovascular diseases due to the presence of vitamins K2, A, D and E, lecithin, selenium, iodine and, this product is an excellent remedy for the prevention of heart and vascular diseases.

2. Arthritis and osteoporosis. The “anti-stiffness factor” helps prevent the development of vascular diseases and arthrosis and fights existing diseases. The vitamins in the oil help absorb phosphorus and calcium.

3. Oncological diseases. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and linoleic acid, present in butter and absent in margarine, have a powerful antitumor effect.

4. Growth and development. Butter helps a young body develop due to its iodine content and vitamins A, K2, and D.

5. Thyroid gland. Since the oil contains a considerable amount of iodine, it can be considered a means of preventing goiter. Vitamin A also has a positive effect on the thyroid gland.

6. Asthma. Polyunsaturated fatty acids help protect the body from asthma.

7. Overweight. Fatty acids, and especially linoleic acid, help normalize a person’s weight and remove “bad” cholesterol from the body.

Harmful effects of margarine in its composition:

1. Trans fats. The hydrogenation process produces harmful trans fats, which are high in calories and lead to fat storage. These same fats lead to diseases such as cancer, infertility, heart disease, problems with skeletal system, growth problems, hormonal imbalances, skin diseases, pregnancy difficulties, lactation problems and low birth weight of babies.

2. Free radicals. During the production of margarine, high temperatures breakdown products appear - toxic free radicals, which can provoke numerous problems in the body, cause heart disease and cancer.

3. Synthetic vitamins. Margarine is often enriched with synthetic vitamins, the benefits of which are quite questionable.

4. Hexanol and other solvents. Using these chemical substances in margarine has a strong toxic effect on the body.

5. Preservatives and emulsifiers, flavorings. Margarine and spread contain many artificial additives that are prohibited in European countries due to harm to health. Flavorings, which are used to give butter a characteristic taste and smell, are also dangerous, as they interfere with the functioning of organs and lead to deformation of body cells.

6. Sterols. These substances are added to margarine and spread to reduce cholesterol levels. But if phytoestrogens enter the body frequently, problems with the endocrine system may occur.

Compare the composition of butter and margarine:

To summarize the above, it can be noted that natural butter, without additives or flavorings, is good for health. In contrast, margarine contains substances foreign to the body that are harmful to health. Therefore, it is better to use only butter. It's better to cook with it confectionery, cookies and pies.

What to choose: butter or margarine? Expert advice.

France is considered the birthplace of margarine: it was there that the chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mourier created it; later this product spread throughout the world as a cheap substitute for butter, similar in composition and taste.

However, several studies have shown that margarine has not only beneficial but also harmful properties for the human body.

What is margarine made from?

Margarine is a product obtained through processing vegetable fats and oils. He has completely vegetable origin, and this is its main difference from butter.

Raw materials used for the production of margarine

In the production of margarine, there are main and auxiliary raw materials.

The main raw materials are fats that make up the fat base, which accounts for about 82% in most types of margarine (in margarine with flavoring additives – 62%). Fat base comprises following components(V %):

• Salomas (hydrogenated fat) from vegetable oils and fats of marine mammals – 8-30,
• Natural vegetable oil – 8-25,
• Coconut or palm kernel oil - 10-25 (not all margarine is added).

The fat base of soft bulk and liquid margarines includes significantly more liquid vegetable oils - 40-60 and 80%, respectively.

Auxiliary raw materials include:

• Butter,
• Milk,
• Flavoring additives (salt, sugar, cocoa powder, etc.),
• Flavors,
• Emulsifiers,
• Vitamins,
• Dyes,
• Preservatives,
• Drinking water.

Manufacturing technology

The production process is as follows:

• The raw materials are tempered and sent for storage;
• Milk is prepared, more often water is prepared, which is to be processed along with butter;
• Getting ready additional components necessary to create the desired consistency and increase the shelf life of margarine: emulsifiers, flavorings, etc.);
• A special emulsion is prepared;
• The finished composition undergoes crystallization, supercooling and tempering, then is sent to a separate mixer, where emulsification occurs.

The final stage is sending the composition to the crystallizer, where it acquires the necessary plasticity and hardness. Trans fats, which are formed during the manufacturing process of the product, are especially harmful to health.

In addition to margarine, you can find its analogues on store shelves - spreads. They are produced using the same technology, but at the legislative level they have strict requirements for the content of harmful trans fats, while there are no such restrictions in Russia for margarine.

What is the difference between margarine and butter?

This is a reasonable question that many people ask, because margarine tastes almost the same as butter, but costs a little less. What are the differences between them?

How to distinguish margarine from butter

Butter is natural product made from cow's milk or cream. Margarine is an artificially created product from animal and vegetable fats. Despite the significant difference in composition, it is sometimes very difficult for an ordinary buyer to distinguish them, which is what unscrupulous manufacturers take advantage of.

So, let’s learn to choose high-quality and natural:

• The words “natural” and “environmentally friendly” are not yet an indication that this is oil. " Light oil», « Sandwich butter"is essentially margarine. The phrase “Butter” must be written. Also in favor of butter are words like “Cow butter” or “Made from cream.”
• If GOST number R 52969-2008 is indicated on the package, this is butter. However, here you need to be careful and pay attention to the price. If a 200-gram pack costs 19 rubles, most likely it is a fake. Real oil should cost at least 30-40 rubles per package.
• Check the composition of the product on the package. Butter is made only from milk or cream. If the composition includes vegetable fats(peanut, coconut, Palm oil or in general “milk fat substitute”), here is margarine!
• You can tell the difference between butter and margarine empirically, but only at home: leave the purchased pack for one hour on the kitchen table. If drops of water “fog up” appear on it, it is margarine. The same conclusion will be if a piece from a pack dropped into water does not dissolve evenly, but separates into particles.
• The color of the oil can range from whitish to pale yellow, but the oil from the same batch should have a uniform hue. The color of margarine is more saturated yellow, but modern margarine producers have learned to lighten margarine by adding a certain percentage of milk to it.
• Butter has virtually no smell. And you certainly shouldn’t feel any odor when you sniff the selected product through the paper packaging.
• Salt is allowed in butter.

People's differences and advice

• Butter should be applied to the bread, and margarine should be spread.
• If you melt butter at home, it will solidify into a uniform mass - melted butter, and the margarine will separate into the fatty part and a layer of milky water.
• Standing at the refrigerator counter, run your finger along the edge of the package, pressing lightly: the cooled butter will be harder and the edge of the packaged bar will feel hard under your finger. Chilled margarine or spread is much softer; the edge of the package will be crushed under your finger.
• Frozen butter chips and breaks, but margarine remains plastic and is easy to cut and spread.
  
• Butter from the refrigerator should not ripple or crumble. When cutting into a thin layer, the butter should curl.This effect will not work with margarine. If the oil prickles and crumbles, it means there are artificial additives in it.
• A piece of butter in your mouth will evenly melt without a trace, and the margarine in your mouth will smear and stick to the roof of your mouth.
• Butter leaves a pleasant creamy aftertaste, while margarine leaves a nasty and unnatural aftertaste.
• In the cold, margarine does not harden like butter, but when room temperature margarine holds its shape worse than butter.

What is the difference between margarine and spread?

The spread is a pasty product made from natural ingredients: vegetable oils and milk fats. It is considered to be a cross between butter and margarine. It is not so popular in Russia, but in other countries it is already actively beginning to compete with the two leading products. In our country, according to GOST, the spread is divided into three categories:

• Creamy vegetable (contents milk fat is about 50%, which is very similar to oil);
• Vegetable-cream (milk fat is contained in sizes up to 40%);
• Vegetable-fat (virtually no difference with margarine).

• The main difference between the spread and margarine is that it is easier to spread on a sandwich, but they taste exactly the same.

It is worth noting that there is still a difference between spread and margarine. The first product contains no or strictly limited content of hydrogenated fats, which makes it more valuable and less harmful to health.

If the packaging of the spread contains the inscription “butter”, it is better to refuse to purchase such a product, since the quality type should be indicated as a “creamy-vegetable product”. Butter is oil and spread is spread. Therefore, who else but the brands that produce these types should clearly differentiate between them.

Where is margarine found?

• Cakes, cookies, pastries, muffins, donuts, etc.
• Sweets, chocolates, ice cream, etc.
• Bread, noodles, pies, pasties, etc.
• Products of McDonald's and similar fast food restaurants.

Margarine: harm or benefit ^

Why eating margarine is harmful: what doctors say

To understand why margarine is harmful, it is enough to study several proven facts:

Hydrogenation of fats during the production of margarine, according to recent research, has extremely unpleasant consequences. by-effect- it leads to the formation of so-called trans isomers of fatty acids (TIFA), which are practically absent in butter and vegetable oil and therefore unusual for our body.

• Trans isomers, the share of which in hydrogenated margarine reaches 40%, increase cholesterol levels in the blood, disrupt the normal functioning of cell membranes, contribute to the development of vascular diseases, and negatively affect sexual potency.
• Margarine lovers are more likely to develop angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and heart failure.

The harm from monster molecules is not limited to heart disease. Last September, a very serious study was published showing that women who frequently ate foods containing trans isomers (TIFAs) had a 40 percent higher incidence of breast cancer. The presence of the monster molecules was unequivocally proven when samples of adipose tissue were taken from women. It turned out that she was literally stuffed with TIG.

Impotence, male infertility, cholelithiasis, cancer, blindness, cataracts, atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, immunodeficiency, low intelligence in children, senile dementia in adults, premature aging - short and far from full list advances attributed to trans isomeric fatty acids (TIFAs).

Several American states have completely banned the sale or use of margarine in Food Industry. Today, trans fats are banned in Denmark, Switzerland and Austria. Many countries require manufacturers to label products containing trans fats.

Margarine for vegetarians

Some people turn a blind eye to the dangers of margarine and use it instead of butter.

• Most often, this is done by vegetarians who do not accept animal products.
• If you eat margarine in moderation and not too often, it will not do much harm.
• But if you eat it systematically, the likelihood of various diseases increases significantly.

What can you replace margarine with?

A good alternative to this product is butter: it does not contain trans fats and is considered the most healthy. There are other options:

• Vegetable oils;
• Rendered pork fat;
• Mayonnaise (sometimes);
• Cooking fat;
• Sour cream.

Also, many girls are interested in what can replace margarine in baking, because it is very often used in various recipes:

Applesauce

It is often used as a substitute, as it has a delicate and light consistency, thanks to which the dough becomes fluffy and porous.

• For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of margarine, add ½ cup of puree and the same amount of butter. This way you will reduce the calorie and fat content of baked goods.

Low-fat sour cream

On supermarket shelves you can see low-calorie, low-fat sour cream. And despite the fact that many are skeptical about this product and believe that it should be fatty, nevertheless, it will be an excellent addition to your diet.

• It can be added to any dough or salad, as well as other dishes.

Avocado

As you know, it is very fatty, and besides, these fats are good for the body.

• Avocado puree is perfect for cookies or cupcakes. It should be used in the same way as applesauce.
• Replacing margarine with avocado not only reduces calories, but also helps create a soft, tender dough.

Rapeseed oil

If you want to substitute melted margarine, great alternative– rapeseed oil.

• Despite its specific taste, its aroma becomes very appetizing in baking, so feel free to use it.

Natural yogurt

• Instead of half margarine, use natural yogurt or kefir, thanks to them the dough will turn out fluffy and porous.
• This way you will reduce the amount of calories and unhealthy fats.

Baby puree

• Turns out it can be used in baking for adults!
• Select fruit puree, which you like and add it to the dough. Believe me, the taste will be amazing!

Conclusions: is it possible to eat margarine^

You should always remember that the health and functioning of all systems of the human body directly depends on what he eats, so it is not recommended to abuse margarine. It is best to use butter instead: it contains greatest number useful substances and is considered relatively harmless.

Signs of low-quality margarine

Doctors' opinion about margarine

Zhanna, 39 years old, immunologist:

“Margarine has a negative effect on immune system, and this has been proven for a long time. Several years ago I gave up this product, which is what I recommend to my patients, because... it does not bring any significant benefit"

Olesya, 43 years old, therapist:

“Having studied the composition of margarine, I realized a long time ago that it is not worth eating at all. I buy butter instead: it’s more nutritious, healthy and tasty.”

Daria, 35 years old, endocrinologist:

"To my patients with diabetes mellitus I strongly do not recommend margarine: not only is it contraindicated for this disease, but it also contains trans fats, which significantly impair the work internal organs, which, of course, quickly affects your well-being.”

Take a stroll through the dairy aisle and you'll see a huge selection of butter and margarine. Moreover, both products are equally popular among the population. Each person has his own opinion that explains his choice. However, not everyone knows what the actual difference between butter and margarine is.

Difference between butter and margarine

Although these products are used for essentially the same purposes, they have little in common. The main factors that distinguish butter from margarine are the method of production and composition. First of all, these products contain fats of different origins.

Butter

Butter lovers are probably aware that it is made from milk. That is, it contains exclusively animal fat. The main ingredient becomes fresh milk or cream. The selected component is foamed to separate the fat. In this case, the liquid hardens.

To make the oil that we buy in stores, it is usually used cow's milk, although sometimes it is replaced by other varieties. Products from sheep or goat milk are also available to the consumer.

Color finished oil can vary from white to deep yellow. In fact, the shade does not speak about the quality of the product, but about the diet of the animal from whose milk it was made. Moreover, only one ingredient is required to whip the liquid into a dense mass.

You may have noticed that butter packages are usually labeled as “sweet cream.” Why is this happening? The answer suggests itself. It’s just that the main component of this product is not milk, but cream. In addition, it is pasteurized or heated before churning. This is done to extend the shelf life of the manufactured product. In many countries, such as the USA, it is strictly prohibited to sell oil that has not been pasteurized.

During churning, milk or cream turns into thick paste. At the same time, the process itself contributes to the fact that air enters the mass, making it lighter. This is why butter contains less calories than regular animal fats.

Not so long ago, both butter and margarine were used in the kitchen for the same purposes. Starting with the morning sandwich and ending with homemade cakes, - on paper they are almost the same. They contain almost the same calories and total fat (about 100 calories per tablespoon and 11-12 grams of fat).

However, the real difference lies in the type of fats contained in each of these foods and their subsequent health effects.

Butter

Butter is composed primarily of 80% milk fat and 20% water. mass media for a long time accused the oil of all sins - due to the fact that it contains a large number of both saturated fat and cholesterol. However, despite decades of anti-fat propaganda, new research shows that these fats are not as harmful as once thought.

A large review published in 2010 looked at 21 studies that included a total of more than 340,000 participants. The results concluded that there is absolutely no link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease. In addition, butter is also an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, none of which are found in margarine.

Margarine

Margarine was created as an alternative to butter. It is based on a component such as vegetable oil, which at room temperature has a liquid form. To this liquid oil thickened, it is processed and hydrogenated.

Although margarine contains less saturated fat than butter, the hydrogenation process produces trans fats, chemically modified substances that mimic the properties of saturated fats. This gives margarine density and also increases shelf life. Trans fats are associated with decreased levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and an increased risk of heart disease.

Unfortunately, not all margarines are created equal. On the shelves you can find both hard margarine in packs and softer margarine in plastic boxes. As a general rule, the heavier the margarine, the more hydrogenated it has been and thus the higher the trans fat content.

Bottom line

In the question “which is better - butter or margarine?” the answer lies not in what is healthy, but in what is least harmful to you personally. In this case, when choosing between the saturated fat of butter and the trans fat of margarine, the lesser of two evils is butter. However, no matter what you choose, it is important to consume these foods in moderation. So when you spread butter or margarine on bread, do it sparingly.

Article prepared by: Lily Snape